Til Death Do Us Part
by Dracona Mortis
Summary: Death, what is it? People have asked that question for just about as long as we have been around. Everyone has their own ideas of what death is like. Most think it the end, or just the ending of a living thing's existence. But for few, its a beginning. Not always a good one, either. Fate is a funny thing. Rated T until it gets REAL Dead Space like.
1. Met With A Terrible Fate

**A/N: So yeah. I got bored with ONE fanfic, so I've decided to start another. Good for me. Read it, enjoy it if you can. Cookies if you can guess the chapter title**

I shook my head, and walked out of the elevator. It was dark, like everything else, with dull lights. But I could see diagrams of the Solar System, posters about everything school taught you about, drawings, and little lockers with backpacks still around them. I walked down the hallway slowly, and the cooing voice of a woman sent chills down my spine. I hurried over to the room to see a woman, on her knees. She was holding her arms out to some new Necromorph, similar to the ones I had taken to calling Lurkers. But the only similarity was that it was made from a baby.

This thing had a bloated, yellow torso, with grayish blue skin on its nubby arms. Its head was twisted backwards, and its legs intertwined together.. I had seen a lot of messed up shit, but this takes the cake. This thing jumped into the woman's arms, she having clearly gone insane. She embraced the grotesque abomination, and it seemed to hug her back. It looked at me with milky, glazed over eyes. It seemed to smile, then suddenly gore splattered against the window. I jumped back in surprise, remembering how the other Necromorphs with that bright yellow colouring on their skin reacted. I stood there for a moment, making a mental note of these things, before moving forward.

More lockers lined up against the wall, with more cluttered papers and backpacks. I couldn't help but feel sorrow for these children, never going to be able to fulfill their dreams or even grow up. I stopped to look at the pictures for a moment, some of them crudely drawn Engineer RIGs. Then a splitting headache came, and static seemed to come from everywhere but nowhere. The lockers opened and closed repeatedly and rapidly, then it went away as quickly as it came. I looked around, baffled, and walked to the next room.

It was an auditorium, most likely, except painted in bloody handprints and corpses. I walked over the benches and up onto the stage. The props were a bit cheesy, but it was a school play. _Its a bit quiet.. Too qu-_ My thoughts were interrupted by a large sun prop dropping and hanging from the ceiling. I jumped back, startled, then after a moment growled. I knocked it down and kicked it away, then seeing that a panel was behind it. I cautiously went over to the panel, this usually when things went quiet to hell. I pulled the cover off, and threw it to the side. I then started hacking the machine, pulling and reattaching various wires. I finally got a result, all of the props and benches folding down. But then I heard screeches of a familiar creature, one that looked similar to a child. I unclipped the Plasma Cutter from my belt, and peeked from behind the wall.

At least a dozen of them had ran out of various holes, as well as a few of the ones I dubbed Slashers. The pale, short ones ran at my direction, sometimes stumbling. I punched and kicked the ones that got up there, sometimes using kinesis to throw one of the claws at the other ones. I dispatched a Slasher, and elbowed another pale one in the head. It fell down, struggling to get back up. Although fast and strong, they were fragile and easily killed. I picked it up and threw it at a few others coming, the last ones I could see. They all fell off the stage, clawing each other in a mass of limbs and claws. They had somehow clawed the other to shreds, a few arms and legs rolling away. I went over to the lockers, picking up whatever I could, then going through the door. But I still couldn't shake that feeling of something bad about to happen.

After getting over another hallucination and headache, I headed towards the transit hub. I looked up to see Ellie and Stross on the walkway above the floor I was. A square hologram projected itself from the triangular device on the front of my suit.

"Well this brings back bad memories... I barely escaped the CEC facility this morning.." Isaac stood there for a few short moments.

"Wait, you're CEC?"

"Yeah, Class Four Heavy Equipment Pilot. You?"

"Engineer."

"Nerd. Figures." Ellie scoffed at my profession. My eye twitched slightly before the power going off. We both ignored Stross' rambling for the most part, Ellie soothing him. A loud roar joined by many smaller ones echoed throughout the vast room. Another hologram came up, this time Tiedemann.

"Our two remaining runners, Clarke and Stross.. I knew it was a matter of time before you reached the transit hub. You will find the train inoperable." I stared at Tiedemann's emotionless looking face.

"Are you insane!? You cut life support! There may still be survivors down here!" If he didn't give me a reason to hate him, he just did.

"Public sector is beyond acceptable recovery conditions. I cannot allow you two to escape. Goodbye, Clarke." And with that, he closed the link. The roars came, closer this time. Slashers came charging after Ellie and Stross, the woman taking care of them the best she could. A large, armoured Necromorph came charging at me. I barely managed to jump out of the way, my helmet closing back up. I got to my feet, and dodged again, ready this time. Before it got the chance to stop and turn, I hit it with my stasis module. I then pulled my Pulse Rifle off my back and shot at the Brute. The rounds of plasma went into its soft, exposed back, and soon it slumped over. I put a few more bullets in it to be safe, then looked up at Ellie who gave a thumbs up. I returned the gesture, then saw that the Brute somehow still had pants, and had dropped some ammo and credits. I cautiously stepped over, grabbed what it had dropped, and started to check over my weapons while Ellie and I talked about the solar panels I could turn on to power the sector.

As I walked away, the Brute suddenly grabbed my foot. I instinctually tried to pull away from its deathgrip, then putting a few bullets in the small exposed parts of its arm. The arm broke away in a shower of blood raining down at me. It just got more pissed off, clumsily rising on one arm. It jumped with the three limbs it had left, barreling into me and knocking the breath from me. I hit it in the face a few times, succeeding in ripping off its head. Blood spurted all over me, but I gave no shits about blood anymore. I stuck my Pulse Rifle in front of its throat and fired, the blood shower increasing before the damned thing finally going limp. I felt my head throb, and something trickle down my neck, probably blood. I looked around, vision fading. The last thing I saw was Ellie, and her yelling my name. And the last thing I remembered.

I woke up, and looked around. Everything was unfamiliar, the surrounding walls and floor covered in a slick, squishy substance. My right leg felt sore as well as my back. I strained my eyes to see anything, the helmet I wore shined small slivers of light through the corridor. It was dark, a dull light at the far end revealing a person. Or more accurately, one half of a person. From what I could tell it was a man. His skin seemed to be tinged with pink, making his skin look unstable. His intestines dangled where his legs would be, so I assumed he was dead. But then he shuddered and let out a moan that sent a chill down my spine. The man was weakly trying to push himself off where he was on the wall, connected to it by the same disgusting stuff all around me. The half of a man moaned again, hanging his head pathetically.

I finally got up and walked closer, he seeming to acknowledge me by raising his head slightly. He raised his arm briefly, reaching for me. I stared at him for a few moments, before nodding slightly. He nodded, knowing what I was going to do. I held his head in my hands, and it was disturbingly easy to snap his neck. I blinked, not remembering when it became so easy to snap a neck. Or when I felt it was rather easy to simply take a life. Also the déjà vu I felt as I snapped the poor soul's neck, like I had done it many timed before. The back of my head throbbed, and something dawned over me.

Ellie grabbed Stross, still chasing after a where a large tentacle had grabbed the unconscious Isaac and dragged him. There was a quickly closing furrow in the sludge like material where the tentacle was. Stross was very uneasy, Ellie having to pull him along. She heard a pitiful moan come from the hall to the right, and she started down it. She saw that the furrow stopped, and continued as footprints. Ellie followed said footprints, seeing the cause of the moan. Its head was limp, like its neck was broken. Stross started shaking, probably wondering what snapped this half of a man's neck while Ellie inspected the half man. They continued following the trail, and saw a figure at the end of the hall. The light flickered, the figure a man with an engineer's suit on. Ellie smiled slightly, and quickened her pace.

"Isaac!" The man turned his head, confusion on his face. He started to back up, bewildering Ellie. He finally voiced the source of his confusion.

"Who the hell is Isaac?"

**A/N: Yeah, I had a random thought of this. Sooooo.. Deal with it. Read, review if you feel like it, I use criticism to try and improve my writing.**


	2. The Lost Turnabout

**A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! ..Bichez.. SO yeah. Inspiration finally hit me and I thought of what to do to continue this. I hope its alright. Read, Review, criticize.. Do whatever you please. Eat a cookie. Drink a beer. Follow the man law.. I could go on, but I won't. Enjoy! ... If its not completely sucky to you.. Oh and internet cookies if you can guess where the chapter name is from :3**

Ellie walked beside me, with Stross behind us. He was still muttering to himself, some things I heard from him sounding strangely familiar. I directed my attention away from the rambling mental asylum patient and back to Ellie. She was still explaining a few things, mainly about myself. She had looked at me when I asked such a simple question like I was nuttier than super dense peanut brittle. She accused me of, quote and quote, "Fucking her over" and I guess I still had the face of wutduhfack. So she explained everything. And when I say everything, I mean. Every. Single. _Thing_. I swear I could've written a 500 page report on what she told me and then turn it into a book.

"Isaac!" She snapped her fingers in front of my face, bringing me out of my thoughts. I blinked, irritated that she did that for probably the millionth time, and grudgingly listened to her. Then I realized I hadn't been following what she had been saying for, about, the last ten minutes. Apparently when you're thrown into a steel pole headfirst by a thing approximately the size of an elephant, your thoughts tend to wander. You also tend to lose consciousness. She had been telling me what I told her about me. ... Wow that sounded completely and utterly ridiculous... In my head and probably would out loud too! Ellie glares at me.

"Have you been paying ANY attention!?" I smile sheepishly and rub the back of my head, which hurt like I got pistol whipped by Superman. She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Goddamnit Isaac! I swear, one day the retardness will be beaten out of you so much it'll spill out your-"

"Is that even a word?" She blinked, stopped mid-insult. So I continued my random question.

"Is retardness even a word? I'd look it up but.. I don't think we get internet here." Ellie opened her mouth, closed it, and then did it again. She looked like a bass with a ponytail. Then she facepalmed, and shook her head.

"Were you like this BEFORE the outbreak!?" I shrugged, OBVIOUSLY not knowing. Ellie sighed.

"Anyways... As I was saying.." She took a deep breath, and continued. "Your name is Isaac Clarke, and you're an engineer." I rolled my eyes. She must've thought I didn't pay attention to ANYTHING she said. My expression must've been a, "NAW DIP SHERLOCK!" because she gave me a mean look.

"ANYWAYS! We're heading towards the solar panels so, hopefully, you can use your nerd power to fix them and restore power to this sector." I blinked.

"You expect me to fix giant space solar panels?"

"Yea."

"I don't even remember my name."

"Well... Now you do." She snickered. I sighed. Stross rambled. After a few minutes of mostly silent walking (DAMN YOU STROSS!) I wondered WHY I was on this station in the first place. Since I was an engineer, wouldn't I be on Earth waiting to be called in to fix something? Or... Something like that.

"Hey Ellie."

"What."

I looked at her, "You know why I was here when the.. outbreak.. started?" I still had a hard time believing what was going on in this station. I can handle amnesia... Sort of.. But bloodthirsty monsters that used to be people and can't be killed by glorious headshots? I'd rather take my chances in a locked cage with a hungry pride of lions. Ellie shrugged.

"No, I asked you before your..." She trailed off, wondering what to call it. "accident... And you rambled a bit like good ol' Strossy. So I kinda just left you alone for awhile.." I blinked. I rambled like the anxious, nervous, and most likely deranged Stross? No wonder I naturally feel like such a nutcase. We passed by a few TV screens, them all broken. Except.. For one. I froze when I saw it in the corner of my eye. I backed up like I was a UPS truck, and turned to see two wanted posters, or more accurately wanted holoscreens. It was Stross.. And me.. (Huh, so that's what I look like..) Then I read the details on the screen in disbelief. Fugitives of EarthGov... Extremely dangerous... Considered delusional... Do not approach!? I couldn't believe it. I was a criminal? I was so out of it I didn't notice Ellie. ...Until she smashed the TV screen. Then she put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's alright Isaac... That's just some horseshit the government feed people. You guys were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Then it clicked in my head.

"So... The government caused this.."

"Most likely."

"...And they're just pinning the blame on two innocent people while letting everyone else in the station _die_!?" My voice rose in anger. Ellie blinked, all three of them knowing the answer. I whipped around and stomped down the corridor we were heading through. Ellie had to run to catch up to my pace, and I slowed down after awhile. My helmet folded over my face, each piece interlocking together to form the single part of the suit. I preferred to not have the helmet on, since I probably lost the apparent comfort I had with it on. (Along with my identity) But I didn't feel like showing my face right now. Then my mind wandered. So eventually I started thinking about that wanted poster on the holoscreen. My face had been the only thing showing, with what looked like a slight touch of insanity in my eyes. But I could also see my neck, and the tops of my shoulders. Both were covered in a white material that looked padded. I also had the look of annoyance on my face... As if I was trying to get something off of me.. And right on cue, Ellie asked the question in my mind.

"..Were you wearing a straitjacket or something like that in the wanted poster?" I nodded slightly.

"Seemed like it..."

Soon afterwards, we stumbled across some dead scientists. They were apparently researching that stuff that looked like the lovechild of radioactive waste and the shit of Cthulhu. Which was all over the place. Luckily it didn't get to the notes. .. Well, at least not a lot of ones had been written on paper. Some of them talked about the parasite virus thingamajiggy that turned people into what we call Necromorphs. Ellie let me read'em while we caught our breath.

"Huh..." I read over the paragraph again, just in case I misinterpreted something. Ellie looked over at me.

"What?" She raised her eyebrow inquisitively. I looked up from the holoscreen.

"Apparently, you can get infected, but not turn. You need to be dead first." She sighed.

"Oh yeah, I'll DEFINITELY live through one of those Infector bat things jamming it's proboscis through my skull!" She said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm just SAYING! Apparently they were looking over a few people that got the virus, parasite, or whatever it is but didn't die. Though they didn't get to study for long." Ellie looked deep in thought for a moment.

"So.. What do you think if the virus stayed in your body for a long period of time?" I blinked, wondering.

"No idea.. I bet it would have some impact on your body though, since it would probably be able to get to the dead cells inside your body... And the virus.. parasite.. thing.. can't manipulate living matter, only dead." The two thought about it for a moment before Stross went flying past them into a stack of crates. Which, surprisingly, had pills. I picked up the pills, they could be some sort of painkiller, and pulled out my Plasma Cutter. The flashlight shined on a few of the Slashers, or I think that's what Ellie called'em. We opened fire on them, dispatching them quickly. Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw something.

Oh joy.

It lunged towards Ellie, proboscis extended. She didn't have any time to dodge. So, without thinking, I leapt in front of her. The proboscis sunk into my abdomen, through the sternum. I was lucky it was just the tip broke through my ribcage, or I would've had much worse. But I wasn't thinking of much worse. I was thinking of jamming my elbow into the proboscis so hard it snapped like a twig. Apparently Infectors couldn't "live" without their proboscis...es... So it fell to the ground, lifeless once more. And I sat down in a nearby chair, blood streaming from the hole.

"YOU DUMBASS! Why would you do that!? You and Stross are the important ones here! I'm not the one that knows how to stop the Marker!" I looked up at her, and gave an exasperated chuckle.

"Yeah... Not the best decision I ever made.. And I don't even remember the other decisions I made..." Ellie immediately started patching me up, cleaning off the dull, foamy, yellow liquid that apparently carried the parasite virus thingymabobber. I could've sworn I...

Aw shit.

"Aw shit.." Ellie muttered, realizing the same thing as me.

"Well, look at the bright side! I'm not dead! .. Yet.." Ellie rolled her eyes.

"You're still a dumbass."

"A ruggedly handsome dumbass."

A red handprint was left on my face that ached. She was a pilot. That could slap the bitch out of bitchslap.

"Ow..." I rubbed my cheek.

"Ass." She gathered up her plasma cutter, as did I. Medkits do wonders. We picked up Stross, helping him to his feet. We walked onward towards our destination that was the

solar panels.

**A/N: Yep. A ruggedly handsome dumbass. That's Clarke for you. Again, read, review, criticize... If you wanna... I'll answer questions the best I can from now on instead of running away from them like a player from the final fight of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. **


	3. Farewell, My Turnabout

**A/N: This chapter is SUUUUUUPER long because I had so much inspiration I had to put it into one chapter. I hope you guys like it, and cookies if you can guess the chapter title.**

So, what do you get when you throw a very talented engineer headfirst into a wall with the force of an elephant charging into you?

An engineer with amnesia.

And what do you get when he still has that nerdy must-touch-everything-new nerd syndrome?

The wish to asphyxiate said engineer.

So imagine how Ellie felt when she walked through a museum with Stross and the engineer she wished to asphyxiate. Slowly. And painfully. There were broken display cases with bodies, and then pristine cases with the artifact they held still intact. The sign over the entrance had said something along the lines of "Museum of Mechanical Engineering" Or something like that.

See, she wouldn't have any problems with this. But she had a nerd with her. A nerdy, nerdy, so very nerdy, _nerd. _She regretted going down this path. Even with amnesia, the guy still couldn't stop himself from observing all the different display cases. It was like watching a five year old in a candy store, for god's sake. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she watched Isaac move from one shattered display to the next. He picked something up, which looked like some sort of capsule. Ellie didn't really pay attention to it, while Isaac scrutinized it with the interest only he could have. Then he fumbled and dropped it.

The bright orange liquid spilled out as the capsule broke, and spontaneously combusted. Isaac yelped and jumped back in surprise, the fire rapidly spreading as small globules of the stuff got onto some wood. It also got on Isaac's suit, and it licked at the fabric of the bandages. Isaac resorted to the stop drop and roll, and ended up accidentally tripping himself into a display with an older model suit. Which caught on fire too.

Soon probably the whole place was on fire, luckily Stross had gotten to the far end of a corridor with nothing flammable. But Ellie was trying to dodge the now huge flames, while also pissed at Isaac. Who was actually not _quite _on fire anymore. He evaded the numerous fires, ducking and weaving towards the corridor Stross was in. Isaac grabbed Ellie, dragging her towards the relatively safe hallway. The man was surprisingly nimble for seeming so bulky.

And the stab wound in his chest, but that's beside the point.

They finally made it into the hall, and they leaned against the wall. Isaac was breathing heavily, the bandages around the stab wound almost burned off. Ellie eyed the blackened and sooty bandages, thinking about how you repair holes in Engineer RIGs. The suit had malfunctioned awhile ago, so it didn't automatically repair itself. Plus, Isaac didn't really have time to take the thing off and fix it, or go to a store to get a new one. And now he had amnesia, so Ellie had to bandage the stab wound the best she could. She felt like a nurse, taking the bandages off to inspect the wound. Ellie chewed on her lip.

It was still infected, and not showing any signs of getting anywhere remotely near better. If she looked at it at the right angles, she could catch glimpses of his ribcage and lungs. It was a miracle he could still walk, let alone do parkour in a burning museum. Her brow furrowed further as she heard Isaac's strained breathing. There wasn't much she could do, except apply a medpack or two and get to a hospital. So the sooner they got the solar panels working, the better. She put the cool, bright teal gel contained within medpacks onto the wound. Stross helped her with the bandages, wrapping them around the engineer's torso. She helped the man up, and they walked in the direction towards the solar panels.

I narrowly dodged a golden death ray. I sighed, not able to hear anything but my breathing and the beep of my suit measuring my heart. I redirected the solar panel, the last one. Then back to dodging a death ray. I got into the HALO, telling a frantic Ellie I'll be there. I am then catapulted back out into space, my thrusters at full boost. I narrowly dodge multiple pieces of...

HOLY SHIT ARE THOSE PICKLES!? I redirect one boot to turn and get the jar of pickles. Then I make it back to Ellie and Stross. Ellie looks at the jar in my hands, the confusion very evident on her face as I crunched on the pickles, which were still good because of their airtight jar.

"Isaac... Are those pickles?"

"Mmph... Yep.." I finished one and moved on to the next.

"Where the fuck did you get pickles!?"

"Space."

"..."

"What! I did!"

"..Can I have one?" At this is I stepped back slightly, still munching on a pickle.

"No way, I EARNED these pickles!" Nomnomnom... So delicious...

"Well... Fuck you too!" Ellie crossed her arms and pouted, so I gave her one. I also gave Stross one, who was muttering more than ever, hands around his knees and rocking back and forth on a crate. The pickle seemed to help, a lot more than food should.

The miracle of pickles.

"So.. (nomnomnom) What's our next move?" I asked her while crunching on my hard earned (Well.. Not really...) food. And _damn _they tasted SO good! Ellie munched on hers, leaning against a wall.

"Well... (nomnomnom) We gotta get to..." She trailed off, and looked out the window of the tram.

"What are you..." My gaze followed hers, and we saw what looked like a ship. And it was _huge. _It was familiar for some reason..

"The Ishimura.. I heard it was attacked by terrorists, everyone killed." She looked at me, then back at the ship. I shook my head slightly.

"No... It wasn't terrorists...It was the same thing that happened here. Necromorphs got onto the ship.." I stared at it, shreds of memories coming back to me.

"How do you know?" She scrutinized me, awaiting my answer. After awhile I finally answered.

"I was there.. Looking for someone while also there to fix the ship... But I didn't know that I would be encountering Those-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.." I blinked, not registering that I remembered something.

"Wait..." Ellie stared at me. Then she smiled. "You remembered something!" I looked at her.

"... I did!" I finally processed that information, and couldn't resist shouting out: "DAMN SKIPPY!" Ellie looked at me for a moment before shrugging. Then she saw.. The death ray.

For fuck's sake...

The beam of golden sun juice cut straight through the tram tracks.

Shiiieeeeeet...

Ellie scrambled to the controls, trying to stop the tram. I was too caught up in the moment of, oh I don't know, a giant laser almost cutting the tram in half. I heard Stross mumbling to himself. Ellie kept trying to stop the tram before it fell off the tracks, and finally got it stopped. Right next to the Ishimura. Then it clicked in my head.

We could use the gravity tethers.

I guess I said that out loud, because Ellie looked at me and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll get my cutter." I looked at her for a moment, and shook my head.

"No, just... Let me." I had that feeling something bad was going to happen, and she sighed, not going to relent. So I drove the point home. "Plus, I'm an engineer. You're a pilot. When have you redirected gravity tethers to a track to allow a tram to pass over a large gap caused by a giant death ray made of lemon juice?" She growled, and sat down on the seat opposite of Stross.

"Fine, but if you die, I'm blaming you."

So I started walking into the ship of nightmares, and I immediately felt dread as I walked in. Plastic and tape covered everything, hiding something horrible. Then I heard something. Some_one._

"What does it feel like, Isaac? Forgetting everything... Having a clean slate..." The voice sounded feminine, with the slight static you would hear in an audio log. I blinked, confused, and looked around for the source of the voice. I suddenly felt like answering her question, "It feels... Empty.. Like there's nothing there.." and I suddenly felt a bit depressed after answering.

"But you can't forget forever... Soon it all comes back... They try to hide the blood and the bodies, but you know what's behind all the plastic and tape... You know what happened here..." I backed up slightly, hand on the plasma cutter which was on my waist. I scrutinized the area, but couldn't see anyone. Pain washed over me suddenly as I got a splitting headache, as a woman in white and black clothes walked closer to me. The lights shut off, and all I could see were what looked like the three holes of a coconut, but glowing. I stumbled, and all that was keeping me on my feet was my shoulder being propped up against the wall. I shook my head slightly, not knowing what was going on.

"You can feel it, can't you?"

"Feel what?" I croaked back, my head feeling like someone was digging the curved end of a crowbar into my skull and tugging as hard as they could.

"It crawling beneath your skin.. Waiting.. Preparing... Until it's finally time for it to be free..." I stared at the woman, and saw her slightly illuminated face. She had a pale complexion, with dried blood all over her face and in her blonde hair. True to her word, I felt something seeming to crawl beneath my skin, in my muscles and veins.

"You're living on borrowed time Isaac... And soon, you have to give it back!" She let out a ferocious, ear splitting scream, and then disappeared, along with my migraine. I let out a heavy sigh.

"..Psychobitch..?" I shuddered, and continued onward. Soon Ellie contacted me, informing me of where the.. Cer... Cereb.. Cerething was. She paused for a moment.

"Are you alright, Isaac?"

"Yeah... I'm fine.." I couldn't quite hide the shaking in my voice. Ellie picked up on it pretty quick.

"Just get back soon, alright? Don't need you dyin' without knowing who you are." I gave her a nervous chuckle. "Yeah... That'd suck ass and swallow.." I bet she was cocking an eyebrow at my comment, but I think she got what I was trying to say. She closed the link and I was alone again. I heard the woman from earlier's voice, whispering. I could barely make out what she was saying, except for something along the lines of "Cross my heart, hope to die.. Stick a needle in my eye..." Which was pretty creepy. My head started to ache again, and I groaned. This gonna be a common occurence or something? Cause I don't need a headache when trying to fix a cerething.

I kept walking, still thinking about her words. Borrowed time... Who's time am I borrowing? I don't remember that lady.. I must've imagined her.. But trick of the light is out of the question.. So.. I opened a door, and when I stepped into the room I saw... A man..

Wait, scratch that... Me. I saw me, with Psychobitch trying to stab me with a needle. She kept screaming with that static voice, "MAKE US WHOLE!" In the end I deterred her efforts, and she disappeared.

But... the syringe didn't.. I was holding it..

The me I was seeing dropped the syringe, staring at his hands. Then he finally snapped out of it, and the helmet folded back over his head. I went through another door, and was.. Back in the Ishimura...

Alright, what the fuck!

I ended up in a large room that could probably hold a whole pod of Blue Whales. Then I heard the roar of something. The ground starting to shake slightly, and I soon saw the source.

Well... Shit.

I was barreled into, sent straight into a wall. My eyes were probably wide as saucers as the thing backed up, and charged again. I rolled out of the way, and got my plasma cutter while the thing crashed into the wall I was just in front of. I spied some yellow, infected looking flesh. So I did what any normal American would do to something foreign and trying to attack them.

SHOOT THE EVER LIVING SHIT OUT OF IT!

Then it let out a low scream of agony, blood pouring out onto the floor of the huge part of the ship. It fell over, and then hefted itself up onto it's three remaining legs. I prepared for it to leap, but instead it's two smaller, tinier arms opened up a cavity in it's abdomen.

Then I got hit with a fleshy capsule the size of my leg. That exploded. I was lucky my leg stayed on, thankful that the suit I had on was so resistant. Then I got pissed.

"ASSHAT!" I charged into it before it could.. fire... another liquid explosion capsule. I was surprised by how much I could do by charging into the thing and hitting it shoulder first. Sure, it hurt like hell, but was totally worth the pain as I dug my hands into the extremely soft, golden flesh and pulled to both the left and the right. I was surprised that the flesh was so soft and squishy, almost like a marshmallow.

A giant, bloody, pus filled marshmallow. Delish.

The thing let out on final roar and went dead once more. Then I turn just to get pulled into a bear hug of death by a Slasher. I swear up and down I could hear it go, "OMNOMNOM!" as it bit into my neck. I pushed it off, and popped the offending head right off. Then I punched it's arm off. Damn this things are resilient, I was thinking, right before it dug it's remaining arm into my _knee. _I shouted in pain as the bone scythe went straight through, probably shattering the kneecap. I shot the arm off, and hobbled away, opened the door I was right next to, and hid in the bathroom. My breathing was labored, and I started doubting myself. A medpack wasn't going to fix a broken kneecap, thank God my jugular wasn't pierced. But this suit wasn't spaceworthy anymore, with it's malfunction of not repairing holes automatically.

I eyed the arm that was _still _stuck in my leg. Hurt like a _bitch _too. I examined it, most of the blade having gone through. If I could get the arm off the blade, then I could pull it out more quickly... Easier said than done, but if I want to be able to walk... Albeit hobble more than walk... I need to get this thing out. Plus, who _knows _what this thing touched with it's claw. I looked around, and to my surprise, a first aid kit was in the bathroom I had taken refuge it. I snatched it from it's place on the wall, before a momentary contemplation.

Who would put first aid kits in bathrooms? Oh no, he's stuck in the toilet! OH NO! GET THE GAUZE! It's not there! HE'S DOOOOOOOMED!

I sighed, and shook my head. I opened it up, and took out the scalpel, which last time I checked(*Cough* Never *Cough*)weren't in first aid kits. I shrugged, and went on cutting off the skinny cords of decaying flesh. It was messy work, having to saw through each one, but ammo doesn't grow on trees and neither do spare bodyparts. Finally I lobbed the arm off, and all that was left was the blade. I gripped the majority of it, which was resting behind my calf, and pulled down with my arm and up with my leg. I gritted my teeth, resisting to yell out and curse the Necromorph's momma so I wouldn't attract more. I set the claw down, and went to work fixing up my knee.

At least, the best I could with a half stolen first aid kit and the _advanced medical training _I clearly have.

At the end of the.. procedure.. My knee was sewn..ish.. up, wrapped in bandages, gauze, and I had probably overdosed on the oxycodone. Joy to the world, my newborn knee... Then Ellie called.

"Isaac, are you alright?" She didn't see my knee, which was out of the range of the little holographic square she was limited to.

"Well uh... I think my kneecap was shattered and I overdosed on morphine, but yeah." I gritted my teeth as I moved my leg slightly. Damn Necromorphs and their... Necro..morphi...ness...

"You.. What!?" She sighed, facepalming. I noticed what looked like a bite mark on her shoulder.

"What happened? Something bite you?" She looked up from her suddenly very interesting palm, and sighed again. "Stross." I stared at the screen for a moment.

"Wait, what!? Stross _bit _you!?" I cleared my throat subtly, and put my hands on my hips, and did my best black guy stereotype.

Which was actually pretty good.

"That mofo bite yew!? Lemme sag mah pants and knock those teeth right out his head!" No offense to African-Americans(don't know why I'm telling this to myself..) I mean, I think I'm mixed.. Or.. Something.

Ellie apparently though it hilarious, as after a moment, she was on the floor. Having what looked like a laughing seizure.

"JESUS WOMAN!" I exclaimed, facepalming although I had my helmet still on. She recovered after a few minutes, and got up, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Alright Isaac... Get your ass back to the tram, I'm going to have to do your job for you."

"But-"

"But nothing! Get your arse back here or I'll _drag _that nerdy gludius maximus back here!" I realized she was talking about the main muscle in the ass at the last part, and I sighed in defeat.

"No, I'm fine, really. Just gotta.. Walk it off. Plus, how hard can resetting a cerething be?"

"Centrifuge!"

"WOMAN!"

"ASSHOLE!"

"BITCH!"

"BASTARD!"

Stross just watched us trade insults, back and forth, thinking of doing something. But he didn't.

Because since when does a man suffering dementia make a good referee?

Eventually the lights shut off, and with them, the chat link. I got up on one leg, holding the doorway of the bathroom to steady myself. I was guessing the doors had been locked along with the lights, as I didn't hear anything. Except for the growls of Necromorphs.

Oh, and the whispers, but that's beside the point.

I carried on, using a broken light fixture, which was surprisingly stable, as a makeshift crutch. The Necromorphs seemed to have disappeared, and soon I was floating around in Zero-G, using my thrusters to float around and the kinesis module to fix the centrifuge.

Yeah, I was totally off on that one.

I finished, and Ellie called me, telling me I needed to go to control or whatever next to turn on the tethers. I told her I'd get there soon, and closed the link. As I walked down the hall, I saw.. A giant tentacle. I backed up slightly, before turning around and hobbling back towards the centrifuge.

Because everyone knows how giant tentacles end.

Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, NOP- SHIT!

It grabbed my uninjured leg, thank god, and tugged me down the hallway quickly. I was feeling déjà vu right now, before the tentacle disappeared and I was half standing, half leaning against a wall with a huge headache that disappeared a few moments later. I had no idea where my crutch went, and didn't feel like looking around for it, so I just limped to the train and set the course. Ellie called back.

"Oh and make sure not to go to the Medical Deck. They're swarming in through there." Then she went to deal with Stross. I sighed, and then looked up as I heard the monotone voice announce...

"Unexpected obstacles blocking tram system. Welcome to the Medical Deck."

...Fuck my life...

I grudgingly got off the seat, and grabbed a stool, took off the legs, and reattached them to make a better makeshift crutch.

"This is where I spent my last hours, Isaac... Cold.. Alone.. Scared.." I could almost see her deformed face grinning, "Well? Don't be shy.." I shuddered at the woman's voice, it seemed familiar. And I did _not _like the way she talked to me. Like I was some pet she was training, trying to force to obey her commands. I sighed, and hobbled onward.

Pew pew pew. Punch. Pew. Punch Punch. Stomp. Pew.

It was like a rhythm I got going, shooting, punching, stomping, shooting, rinse and repeat. I stopped at a few screens, and as soon as I saw her, I remembered. Well, partially, but still. As the woman committed suicide in the video, the screens suddenly cut to her malformed face moaning and screaming before I finally broke them. I shook almost uncontrollably before I willed myself to sit down in a chair. It was covered in the blood, lighted up like all the other stains in a bright blue colour by the UV lights.

It was pretty, almost, until you realized what it was.

"Remember Isaac... Borrowed time.." I growled, and saw her sitting on the chair at the opposite end of the room. My helmet folded down, so I could get a better look at her. Same pale complexion, same blonde hair. Though not the same brilliant, blue eyes.

"You're not Nicole.." I whispered, my throat hoarse. She stared at me.

"Then who am I, Isaac? WHO AM I!" She appeared in front of my face, screaming, before pulling the disappearing act like she always did. I leaned back in my chair, eyes starting to water as the partial memories came back to me like a bad dream. I remembered when.. Kendra, I think her name was, showed me the video... The complete video... Then the Hive Mind, and the Marker...

I let out a heavy sigh as I hobbled onward. I boosted down the tram way, then she came back. I mentally groaned, why couldn't she just leave me _alone! _I have enough bitch problems as it is.

" The barrier between us is wearing thin, Isaac. Behind every tarp... a memory. Behind every door of the passage of time from my life to when I died."

"You're not going to break me." I refused to let her have the better of me.

"Why do you keep insisting these unpleasant memories are somehow my fault? This isn't about the Marker, Isaac. This is about you." I merely grunted in response.

Then...Stross.. A video of him attacking Ellie. I yell at Stross to stop, but he doesn't seem to hear me as the link cuts out. I hurry to my next objective.

I finally made it back, turned the tethers online, Ellie getting across, before I told her I would meet her there. I turned to an escape pod only to see, _guess __**FUCKING **__who, _who_, _surprise surprise, decides to block my way.

"Where are you going Isaac? Do you still think I'm something you can avoid?" I growled, wondering what I DID think she was.

"I.. I don't know. I don't know what you are, okay!?" She seemed either A. Happy with that answer B. Pissed off at that answer or C. Both.

I got in the pod. And I crashed the pod. Like a _bawss. _Then I blacked out, and GUESS WHO SHOWED UP! Of course... I woke up, and got onto my feet. But her words.. "You made me stick with it... YOU MADE ME DIE!" ...I couldn't get them out of my head. I quickly ran, remembering the video, and saw a fleeting glimpse of white. I ran as fast as I could, flying down the corridors, destroying every Necromorph in my way, not paying attention to not feeling almost anything in my injured leg. I finally get to the gate separating me from Ellie and Stross. Stross has a screwdriver, rambling madly as Ellie struggles to keep it away from her eye. I bang on the gate, and start punching it with my plasma cutter, leaving dents. I even manage to break one of the bars. Stross is distracted for a fleeting moment, which is more than enough for Ellie to kick him off. That's the last thing I see before the gate is closed by a second one. But I can hear rapid footsteps, probably Stross running, before they fade away. Ellie contacts me.

"Thank God he noticed you... If he didn't, you would've owed me an eye, you bastard." I gave a sigh of relief, glad that she was okay.

"But he's still around." The way my voice reverberated through my helmet, sounding a bit inhuman, still made me a little weirded out. I don't know why, just the way it worked on my psyche. Ellie nodded, "Keep an eye out for him." and closed the link. I continued on my way, a few rooms away from Ellie, until I'm knocked onto my face. I groan and try pushing myself up, until someone hits me on the head with what I'm guessing is a crate. Then he/she/it turns me around, and guess who! BATMAN! No.

"Stross! What're you doing!" I struggled to keep the screwdriver away from my eye, in Ellie's place now. My helmet malfunctioned, WORST time to do that suit, and gave him a clearer shot instead of through the visor.(Wow I was hit harder than I thought...) I falter for a few moments, and the screwdriver is plunged into my eye. I scream, more loud than high pitched, and I immediately hear something move around in the ceiling. I cry out in pain again as he jerks my eye right out of the socket, my vision becoming lopsided as the optic nerves are forcefully torn from my brain. I can't see the blood and various fluids going down the right side of my face, but I sure can feel them. I clench my eyelids closed, and grit my teeth, fury replacing agony. I throw Stross off of me, finding a new strength. Stross hits the wall, _hard. _

I get up, and growl again. But it sounds so different when it's not just to myself, when it is projected through my helmet and at someone. I had only one thing on my mind: **KILL**

Stross snapped out of his daze at my growl, and brandishes his screwdriver. I just get even more furious when I see _MY _eye impaled on there, optic nerves just...dangling from the back of the eyeball..

I dodge as he takes a swipe at me with the tool, and I grab his arm before he can strike again. I grip it, and he drops the screwdriver as I twist his arm and flip him over onto his back. I grab the screwdriver, and look at it for a moment, as the skewered eye that had been in my skull moments ago seemed to look at me.. The sea green iris dulled and lacking any luster it formerly had. Stross had gotten up while I stared at the eyeball, almost lifelessly, before I snapped out of my trance and was charged into. He grabbed the screwdriver.

"You need to see the steps! You need to see him!" He screamed at me. We were once again struggling with the screwdriver, and I grunt and pull it from his grasp, before plunging it into his own eye. I pull it out, the other eye denying access to his brain, and I ignore his eye almost getting pulled out too as I instead bury it deep into his jugular artery. I simply watch as he struggles and chokes, his right eye pulled from the socket but not yet totally removed. He scrabbled at the screwdriver, the blood rapidly draining out of him. As the adrenaline wears off, and that singular thought that was in my head dissipates, I finally realize what I did.

Ellie ran down the hall after finally dealing with a large Necromorph pack. She sprints in the direction she had heard Isaac scream. She makes it to the door, and quickly opens it to Stross in a large puddle of blood, his hospital clothes now covered in it, with a screwdriver firmly planted where the jugular artery is. His right eye on the floor, still connected by a few optical nerves. Another eye is on the screwdriver, the iris a familiar sea green. She walks in a little, and sees Isaac, one side of his face drenched in various fluids, mostly blood, the eyelid clenched shut. His other eye, his remaining eye, was blank, staring at Stross. Ellie could see blood on the gloves of Isaac's suit. She doubted it was his own. As she got closer, she saw he was trembling slightly, and who wouldn't, after discovering they murdered someone in slightly cold blood?

"Isaac? Come on, we need to get out of her before more Necromorphs get here." She beckoned to him, pointing at the door she came through. But that lifeless stare didn't leave his eye. Then she heard him mumble.

"What was that?" He didn't seem to hear her, but did mumble it again. He staggered back slightly, his bandaged leg finally buckling beneath him. He fell against a wall, and just sat there with his back to it, shuddering and mumbling while staring at Stross's corpse. It was weird, to be honest, seeing the determined, strong, resilient man she met at the elevator (and almost shot the head off of) having a mental breakdown. Ellie didn't know what to do, so she quietly walked over to him, and sat down next to the poor guy. She put her arm around his shoulder, and to her surprise, he looked away from Stross and at her. She finally heard what he had been muttering.

"Borrowed time..." He whispered one more time before leaning his head against the wall, the left eye closed now. Ellie patted him, reassuring and comforting him.

"It's all right Isaac... It's not your fault.. It's all right.. Just calm down.. Calm down.." She looks at the right side of his face, the blood, tears, and ocular fluids already starting to dry. She wondered how to disinfect a removed eye, but knew that she had to find out how. Neither of them definitely did _not _want him to have an infected eye socket. So she patted Isaac a few more times, and then nudged him slightly. He gave her a muffled grunt, seeming to ask "What?"

"Isaac, we need to get that eye socket taken care of.. That screwdriver wasn't exactly clean, and we can't have you getting your face infected." He sighed, and gave her a slight nod. Isaac opened his eye, and almost fell over again. Ellie helped him stay on his feet while they headed towards a (mostly) safe room, where she had seen a few first aid kits scattered around.

Soon Ellie was cleaning off the fluids on Isaac's face, and helping out with his knee too. She grimaced at it, it being inflamed and irritated. She saw where he had hastily stitched together where the claw had entered and exited his leg. Ellie was surprised by how long he had been able to hold up with such an injury. She opened up the stitches, and gasped slightly.

Some of the flesh inside was almost yellow in colour, and the flesh surrounding his knee was pale, almost white, which was in great contrast with his tan skin. Isaac grimaced slightly, though not looking at what she gasped at. She bit her lip, seeing a small bit of white here and there. The kneecap really was shattered. Ellie didn't think she could do anything for him, except apply a medkit, give him some morphine, stitch it back up, and hope for the best.

"How bad is it..?" She almost didn't register his voice, it almost inaudible. She bit her lip harder this time, and tasted copper.

"Depends... Want me to lie or tell you the truth?" Isaac moved slightly.

"Truth.." Ellie sighed.

"The kneecap is really shattered.. There's nothing I can do except give you some meds, stitch it up, and pray a doctor survived this hellhole." Isaac moved again.

"There's.. Something else wrong, isn't there?" He had opened his eye and was now staring at Ellie with it. _Damn _he knew when he wasn't being told the total truth. She gave in, and nodded.

"Some of the flesh is yellow. Like, Exploder arm yellow. Then most of the skin around the knee is almost white." Isaac gave an exasperated chuckle, despite the pain he must be going through.

"..I barely feel it.." Ellie's jaw dropped at that, and she thought he was joking. But that look of seriousness no lying person could mimic on his face told her otherwise. She sat back, sighing, and put her hand to her face.

"It's.. Alright Ellie.. I'll be fine.." She growled, and stood up. "No you WON'T be fine! You have a shattered kneecap that's infected with God-Knows-What, and you don't _feel it!?" _She roared at him. He watched her calmly and evenly, and gave a small nod.

"Borrowed time, Ellie... I'm living on borrowed time.." He paused to cough up a little bit of blood, the bandages around his chest getting bloody again. "And I'm going to have to give it back.." She stared at him in disbelief. He was rambling like he would occasionally. Before his being slammed into a steel column head first.

"This is _not _the time to be going Stross on me Isaac!" She stared at him furiously. He looked up into her eyes. "Ellie... The wounds won't heal.. And there's a reason for that.." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Alright Isaac, who's time have you been borrowing?" Ellie might as well play along, so he'll stop and let her try to fix him up the best she can.

"The Marker's.. It has been waiting patiently for me to die... And it's patience is wearing thin now.." He coughed again, the bandages around his chest rapidly turning crimson. Ellie went for the bandages, but was stopped by a Puker abruptly falling out of the ceiling. It swung a claw at her, only for her to narrowly dodge. She glanced at where Isaac was sitting, him already getting away the best he could with the condition of his leg. She jumps back, and pulls out her cutter. A Slasher ambushes Isaac from behind, tackling him and about to stab him through his chest. He gives it a loud, furious roar, and kicks it back into the vent, sending it flying into another trying to crawl down. Isaac scrambles back to his feet grabs his plasma cutter, and brutally dismembers the two attackers. Then he spins on his heel, tackling the Puker to interrupt it getting acid onto Ellie.

It throws him off, and pins him to the ground instead. Corrosive fluids started to dribble onto Isaac's sternum, quickly burning through the bandages and draining into the wound an Infector left in him. He grits his teeth, Ellie then kicking it into an already broken vending machine. They finally take care of it, and sit down again. Isaac gives Ellie a faint smile, for reasons unknown to both of them.

"Isaac.. I don't get what you're saying! Borrowed time? The Marker? It makes no goddamn sense!" The engineer chuckles. Acid dripped internally, burning through his insides. As he laughs, he hacks up a bit more blood. Once again he sits with his back to the wall. Ellie bites her lip.

"The acid.. Actually went into the wound?" Isaac gives her a weak smile to confirm it. Then he gestures to the partially mutilated Puker, a hand and leg rolling away from it.

"Recognize him? They had gotten to him already.." Ellie didn't understand what he meant, at first, but after scrutinizing the Necromorph, she nodded slightly. The "dead" Puker had a screwdriver still firmly planted in it's jugular artery, with shredded and mostly burned off hospital clothes. A few tubes attached to it's intact arm hung by it's side. One eye was dangling from the socket. Ellie sat next to Isaac. He was dying. Both of them knew it. Suddenly, she started crying. Isaac looked at her in surprise as she embraced him, hugging tightly.

"Why... Why do you have to go? You need to destroy the Marker... Help survivors... I dunno, find a way to end all this!" She looks up into his remaining eye, and sees a sheen of tears. She buries her face in his chest, and he rubs her back, not knowing what else to do.

"I don't know Ellie... It sucks.." She continues to sob, her tears draining into his chest cavity. She moves slightly, "Why do all the best people die first, Isaac?" He thinks for a moment.

"I don't know Ellie... Pretty messed up shit, eh?" She looks up into his intact eye again, seeming to search for something. She gives him a silent nod, tears streaming down her face. Isaac gives her a faint smile.

"I remember..." Ellie cocks her eyebrow. "I remember everything... How I met you, my life before all this... Though it's still a bit fuzzy before the Sprawl." She gives him a smile, the first one he's ever seen her do.

"Do you remember why you were here?"

"Yeah.." She cocks an eyebrow again.

"I was in a mental ward... I had been in very close proximity to a Marker before, like, literally touching it.. So I had the blueprint of how to make them stuck in my head... EarthGov found my ship, drifting through space, found out how valuable I was, and slapped a note saying "Insane" on my back..." He pauses for a moment, "I was insane.. I remember... Almost killing a few nurses... I needed to be handled with sedatives and be always kept in a straitjacket..." He looks down, seeming to be ashamed.

"But you're fine now Isaac. The Markers can't hurt you anymore." He looks back at Ellie, and nods. "I guess so.." Both of them look out the slightly cracked window, seeing caverns beyond the room they're in. As each minute passes, Ellie feels Isaac's breathing getting more labored, more slow. Finally, with one shaky breath, he hugs her.

And then is still.

**A/N: DON'T GET MAD AT ME! -Prepares to dodge bricks, fish, and rocks- I have something planned, and it's gonna be amazing! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, tell me your opinion on how I ended this chapter, tell me what you liked, blah blah blah... (Y'know.. If you want..) I hope it was sweet to you guys, I'm not that good at writing emotional scenes... So... Again.. I hope you all liked it, Dracona signing off!**


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